Source: http://mix96buffalo.com/are-mcdonalds-self-serve-kiosks-a-sacrifice-to-customer-service/
McDonald’s is upscaling its products and customer service by introducing self-ordering kiosks and table service in 20 to 30 restaurants a year, according to Avi Goldfarb, a marketing professor at the Rotman School of Business. The digital kiosks will provide choices of premium hamburgers from over 30 options, including 5 types of customizable cheese and many more different options. This revamp of the giant food chain will create another 15,000 jobs by the end of 2017 as they follow through with their meal and service expansions.
Having worked as a cashier in McDonald’s before, I definitely agree that this is a big step away from the negative image McDonald’s has received in terms of their unhealthy food and unsatisfactory customer service. Self-serving kiosks will allow customers to order exactly what they want, and decrease the chances of them coming back to complain about wrong orders later. At the digital machines, customers will feel less rushed, which can lead them to order more, according to Mr. Betts, CEO of McDonald’s Canada.
Overall, I think this is a fitting example of Rita McGrath’s theory of the transient advantage, which states that achieving a sustainable competitive edge is nearly impossible in the fast-changing business environment. McDonald’s has demonstrated this by changing its operational strategy to create faster service and increased human interactions in order to stay competitive in today’s environment.
Sources:
http://www.thestar.com/business/2015/09/30/mcdonalds-canada-introduces-self-serve-ordering.html
http://www.bnn.ca/News/2015/10/1/McDonalds-rolls-out-upscale-options.aspx
http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=f6c1d9ce-c2d5-40ff-8661-0134022e3a51%40sessionmgr198&vid=2&hid=101